Mexicans lost two crewmates

THE miraculous story of three Mexican fishermen who survived
nine months adrift in the Pacific Ocean in a small boat has taken a
new turn after it was revealed there were five men on board the
vessel when it began its voyage.

Joel Hernandez Garcia, an official with the Mexican foreign
ministry, said there were five people on board the boat when it set
off on October 28 from the village of San Blas on Mexico's Pacific
coast to fish for shark in local waters.

The boat was blown off course by a storm, and after running out
of petrol, drifted for more than nine months and 8000 kilometres
until the three survivors were rescued last week by a Taiwanese
tuna trawler.

"Two of (the missing fishermen) apparently died after the
passage to the open sea, as they were drifting," Mr Garcia said.
"The survivors have mentioned the probable time of death of the
first person as January and the second person a month later."

No mention was made of the dead fishermen during interviews with
Mexican broadcasters earlier this week.

But the operator of the Taiwanese boat said he thought the men
said there had been five men, media reports said.

The missing trio said they survived on raw fish, raw ducks, raw
seagulls and rainwater. They caught the fish with hooks attached to
the end of electric cables from the boat's motor.

"At one point, we went for 15 days without anything to eat," one
of the survivors, Jesus Vidana, 61, said.

Mr Garcia made his remarks after talking to Mr Vidana, who
indicated "there was little to eat and that the other two refused
to eat".

Mr Garcia said the bodies of the two dead fisherman had been
thrown overboard.

The men said a Bible on board gave them hope and strengthened
their faith. "We never lost hope, because we prayed day and night,"
Mr Vidana said.

The nine-metre-long, three-metre-wide boat was nearly sunk by
huge waves that swamped the vessel, and survived several storms,
the men said.

On August 9, the Taiwanese fishing crew spotted the crippled
boat on their radar.

The Mexican Government said the men would be brought home as
soon as possible.

They are now guests on the trawler, which is due to arrive in
the Marshall Islands tomorrow.